Day 1 – Hiking Above Kreuzberg Pass

Jan 14, 2024

Today’s Adventure

For our first day in Italy Cindy and decided to take it fairly easy. We had a slow start due to jet lag so we didn’t head out until just after 11:00. We walked over to the base of the nearby Monte Baranci ski area to catch a bus for Kreuzberg Pass, a small hotel and ski resort located about 30 minutes away on the border between Südtirol and Veneto.

At Kreuzberg Pass we made a quick pit stop at the hotel and then headed across the road to find our trailhead. Today’s trail was mostly in the woods, entirely covered with packed snow, and quite steep in spots but it was well-marked and there were some beautiful views along the way.

Our lunch destination was the Malga Coltrondo, a family-run farm-to-table restaurant located high above Kreuzberg Pass at around 6200 feet above sea level. After being greeted warmly (?) by some of the farm’s yak herd we found a table on the outside deck and ordered our lunch. https://www.malgacoltrondo.it/

Cindy chose the polenta with mushrooms while Stuart ordered the traditional hiker’s lunch of speck with fried eggs over roasted potatoes. Both dishes were very good, even allowing for any bias from the lovely view and the shared carafe of a local Cabernet Sauvignon.

By the time we had finished our rather late lunch the sun was starting to set behind the dramatic Sexten Dolomites so we headed back down the hill. The trail that was so steep on the way up was equally steep on the way down, so we put on our ice cleats to make sure that we could descend safely.

We completed the 6.2 mile loop with perfect timing as we were able to walk directly off the trail and onto a waiting bus for the ride back to San Candido. The half hour ride was interesting as it took us past several winter sport venues. At one point there were folks with alpine skis, Nordic skis, snowshoes, and even plain old winter hiking boots (us) on the bus heading home at the end of their day’s outing.

For Innichen’s main page click here.

For Seefeld’s main page click here.

For the entire trip’s main page click here.